The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra may have had top billing for Friday's night's concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, but the MSO Chorus members were the real stars of the evening.

Led by MSO Associate Conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong, the program included three contrasting choral and/or orchestral works. Prepared by chorus director Lee Erickson, each required the chorus to flex a different set of vocal and/or choral muscles. | May 24, 2014»Read Full Article

Philip Sletteland is Hippolytus and Jocelyn Ridgely is Strophe in in The World's Stage Theatre Company's "Phaedra's Love."

In the first scene of "Phaedra's Love" — the Sarah Kane play being staged by The World's Stage Theatre Company, under Leda Hoffmann's direction — a slovenly man is eating junk food while watching TV in the dark. Excited by on-screen violence, he unzips his pants and masturbates into a sock.

And that's just for starters. In the ensuing hour, we'll witness two sex acts, a brutal rape, a strangulation and disembowelment, two murders, an immolation of a woman who killed herself offstage and an on-stage suicide. | May 24, 2014»Read Full Article

Put a bead on it

The Bead and Button Show, taking place Wednesday through June 9 at the Wisconsin Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave., offers over 800 classes in bead and jewelry making. The marketplace will be open June 6-8 and boasts over 300 vendors. Jewelers interested in the classes and workshops should go to www.beadandbuttonshow.com. The marketplace will be open at 10 a.m. each day and closes at 8 p.m. June 6, 6 p.m. June 7 and 4 p.m. June 8. Admission is $10 (or $8 with a coupon at the website); free June 6 from 4 to 8 p.m. and two-for-the-price-of-one on June 8. | May 24, 2014»Read Full Article